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Meet Suzanne
About Grace & Grind
Welcome to Grace and Grind!
Career and Lifestyle services for
individuals and organisations...
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Grace & Grind is a highly solutions focused style of offering that involves working with you 1:1 to firstly uncover what it is you are trying to achieve and then to identify concrete steps that you can take to achieve your career and life objectives.
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We will work together to get to the heart of what the pathway is that you passionately want to follow for yourself. This includes stripping away other people's expectations that might be weighing on you or even past decisions that are still causing you to second guess your current career & life choices.
But just to be clear, we aren't counsellors, so our role does NOT include diving deep into your past personal issues, or trying to understand your behaviours and life patterns. Where someone may want to work on their life history and “why” they are in their present situation they would likely be better suited to counselling.
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Outcomes....
After a HR, leadership, personal branding or wellness program you can expect to walk away with any number of outcomes including clarity, confidence, insight, encouragement and inspiration.
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Of course making any significant change in your life can also create a certain amount of anxiety, fear and vulnerability, and if clients have any of these emotions often the experience will involve unwrapping those emotions so you can better understand how these factors may be blocking you from moving forwards.
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Click to view Grace and Grind's
SUZANNE WILLIAMS
CAREER & LIFESTYLE COACH
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SUZANNE BLEAKLEY
CAREER & LIFESTYLE COACH
SUZANNE BLEAKLEY
CAREER & LIFESTYLE COACH
Hi! I’m Suzanne Bleakley (or Suz, as I prefer to be called!) Director of Grace and Grind and a HR, Leadership, Personal Branding & Wellness expert. I am a certified Executive Coach, Human Resource specialist and Yoga Teacher.
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What brought me here...
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Growing up I had a huge desire to work with people and a passion for health sciences, although I wasn’t sure what
pathway to follow. I studied speech pathology with the intention
of working with adults with traumatic injuries and rehabilitating them back to a better life. As a young student this was emotionally exhausting for me and I eventually learnt this wasn’t my calling and I subsequently ‘fell’ into a Human Resource career thinking this would still fulfil my need to help and support people.
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Fast forward many years in a HR career, coaching executives, leading teams and navigating the corporate jungle and my passions have brought me back to what I believe are my true roots. My instincts in my youth were right, and I know I do love to support and guide others in their careers, leadership, empowerment, health and wellbeing as well as helping people to better themselves generally.
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I believe...
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that we are all the masters of our own destiny and we have choices in life.
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A healthy mind, body and soul is paramount.
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that too many people live in fear and don’t ask for what they want or stand up and value their own needs.
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in saying 'no'... in this modern world we can’t possibly do everything and be everything to everyone.
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in the power of presence, mindfulness and gratitude.
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that everyone deserves respect and should be honoured for who they truly are. Each and every person has something unique to bring to this world.
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that sometimes we can take ourselves too seriously. Life is too short not to have fun, make jokes and laugh at ourselves!
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Fun facts...
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I thrive on keeping fit and being healthy. I just can’t get enough pilates, functional training, hiking, bootcamps and I love being active in general.
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I’m a tea girl at heart, went to the dark side drinking coffee only a few years ago.
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Two of my favourite mantras for life are:
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"Design beats discipline" and​
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"The cure for anything is salt water...sweat, tears or the sea"
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The outdoors energises and enlivens me. Whether it be hiking in a rainforest, lazing on a beach or discovering new cities.
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I’m petrified of snakes and lizards.
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I love all things psychology and human behaviour
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I love nothing more than a weekend wine (preferably a delicious red) and dinner with friends
The nitty gritty (my qualifications)....
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Bachelor Business Management (Human Resources & Industrial Relations) - University of Queensland
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Life Coaching - BY Academy Melbourne
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Level 1 Executive Coaching - Institute of Executive Coaching & Leadership (IECL)
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200hr Yoga Teacher Training - Yoga 213 Melbourne
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Strategic Planning - University of Sydney
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Ready to get started?
Book your kick starter call here...
"I worked with Suzanne for about 4 months when my career had hit a stand-still and I wasn't sure where to go next. She helped me realise my goals and values in my career and in my lifestyle.
Suzanne is absolutely lovely and really makes you do the work - she's not here to just give you the answers! I loved working with her and recommend her to anyone needing clarity over their next move."
ALYCE APPELGREN
What others say about me...
“Suz was the anchor speaker at the inaugural DARE TO DREAM event for young women (15-18 years of age). She was engaging, on brief and an absolute delight to work with.
Suz presented tangible strategies that the girls could immediately implement into their life. She also provided long term strategies that might influence their choices when it comes to major decisions about future pathways.
I'm so grateful that Suz was part of the Dream Team. I loved working with her and wouldn't hesitate in recommending her."
Kylie Wharton
Founder, It Starts With Us Events
“Suz was the anchor speaker at the inaugural DARE TO DREAM event for young women (15-18 years of age). She was engaging, on brief and an absolute delight to work with.
Suz presented tangible strategies that the girls could immediately implement into their life. She also provided long term strategies that might influence their choices when it comes to major decisions about future pathways.
I'm so grateful that Suz was part of the Dream Team. I loved working with her and wouldn't hesitate in recommending her."
Kylie Wharton
Founder, It Starts With Us Events
“I knew that Suz could provide me with different perspectives and help give me clarity so that I could make a well thought out and informed decision regarding my career.
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I needed someone who was going to be able to help me navigate a current career challenge. Suz had the right expertise and experience to work through this with me and give me an unbiased view.
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After our time together, I not only knew what I was going to do, but I could clearly articulate why. Suz is friendly while keeping focused on the challenge at hand which makes working with her both fun and fruitful."
Samantha Rush
Executive Manager
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"If you are looking for someone who is 100% approachable, has a genuine desire to bring out the best in you and provide you with honest and constructive guidance, then Suz is the one for you!
Recently I worked with Suz as I was facing a really challenging situation at work where I needed both coaching support and HR advice to work this through.
Suz was great in not only helping me understand what should occur but also helping me to work through how I could position a discussion to set myself up for success. After working with Suz I felt fully prepared for the discussion and she gave me the confidence to know I had all the facts and ways to approach the situation to reach the desired outcome, which I achieved.
Suz has the ability to quickly build rapport and make you feel at ease, which also helps to build a level of trust. You can tell she is sincere and has your best interests in mind, although she isn’t afraid to give you an answer or ask a question you might not want to hear. You know when she asks questions or provides advice, it is considered and provides a different perspective on how you might see the situation.
Suz is really good at following up with you to see how the situation worked out or if you tried something new, what the result was. She is definitely passionate about helping people further build their capability or build confidence in their ability, but she is also willing to have the tough conversations with you to get there.
I found Suz’s support to be excellent and I would highly recommend her as a coach or to provide HR advice!
Leena Lim
Diversity and Inclusion Manager
